USAID gives $465-m boost to hurricane relief
Published: October 1, 2004
The Jamaican Office of National Reconstruction (ONR) has received $1.36 billion in cash and commitments in the two weeks it has been set up to lead the restoration and relief initiative in the wake of Hurricane Ivan, which battered the island three weeks ago.
The latest donation to the ONR was made yesterday by the United States Agency for International Aid (USAID) - a donation of $465 million (US$7.5 million) to assist in the reconstruction of homes in western and southwestern Jamaica hard hit by the deadly hurricane.
But yesterday, Danville Walker, the managing director of the ONR, said the agency needs far more funds as damage assessed so far appears far worse than what was initially estimated.
“It is hard to say (how much we need) now because the assessment is now taking place but if we had $3 billion it would not be difficult to allocate; I mean we could spend that easily,” Walker told the Observer yesterday after a press conference organised by the Land and Environment Ministry to give an update on the relief and restoration programme.
Said Walker: “With the $3 billion we would be able to get people back to where they were and above that you’re making improvements.”
In the meantime, the ONR head said the agency will be giving priority to agriculture and education. He said direct payments will be made to contractors who effected repairs to schools that were damaged by the hurricane.
In the meanwhile, director of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) Dr Barbara Carby said all shelters currently being housed at schools will be closed next week.
Up to yesterday, more than 1,000 persons were still housed in schools that were used as public shelters during the onslaught of the hurricane.
“We have asked parish officers to identify other locations like community centres or we will (issue) tents to each family to pitch on their own land,” said Dr Carby.
To date, evaluations for over 50,000 houses - 70 per cent of those damaged during Hurricane Ivan - have been completed. Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security Alvin McIntosh said all evaluations will be completed before December.
“We don’t want to overlook anybody so those affected should get in contact with the Labour and Social Security offices in their parish,” he urged.
At the same time, the land and environment minister, Dean Peart, announced that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has disbursed over $18 million in relief supplies to approximately 70,000 families.
He said Prime Minister PJ Patterson had ordered a rapid response mechanism be instituted to accelerate assistance to affected persons.
“I have instructed a team to investigate the most urgent needs of Southern St Elizabeth, Old Harbour and Rocky Point, which were some of the hardest hit areas and I am to get a report by next week,” Peart told journalists.
The land and environment minister also announced that Ministry of Health mobile clinics will be visiting hurricane-ravaged communities over the next six weeks, while islandwide fogging to control mosquito breeding should be completed by the end of this month.
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